CARY, N.C. – Seven representatives of the Duke men’s tennis team played their way into the third round Thursday at the first day of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Carolina Regional, compiling a 10-2 record on the day at the tournament played at Cary Tennis Park in Cary, N.C.

After receiving a first round bye, top-ranked senior Henrique Cunha cruised to victory against John Schmitt of East Carolina in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. The Jau, Brazil, native will face Clemson’s Gerado Meza in the third round on Friday.

Junior Chris Mengel, the 19th-ranked player in the ITA preseason rankings, defeated Clemson’s Ayrton Wibowo 6-2, 7-6 (6) in the second round. Playing as the second-seeded player in the field, Mengel will play Elon’s Brian Kowalski in the third round.
Sophomore Jason Tahir, the 16th-seeded player in the field, defeated Randy Philips of UNC Greensboro, 6-3, 6-1, after receiving a bye in the first round. The Rochester, N.Y., product will face North Carolina’s William Parker in Friday’s third round of play.

Freshman Michael Redlicki, the top-ranked newcomer in the ITA preseason rankings, defeated Ted Nilsson of Coastal Carolina in the first round of play, 6-3, 6-2. In his second round match the 15th-seeded player in the field coasted to victory, downing Campbell’s Fernandio Guililon, 6-2, 6-2. Redlicki will face Amogh Probhaker of Wake Forest in the third round.

After defeating Oystein Steriro of UNC 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of play, freshman Josh Levine defeated James Dougherty of UNC Greensboro, 6-2, 6-4. The Syosset, N.Y., product will now face 12th-seeded Esben Hess-Olesen.

After competing in the finals at the Wake Forest Fall Invitational last weekend, junior Fred Saba advanced past Elon’s Carlos Arboleda, 6-2, 6-1. The third-year player downed Matias Pasquale of Coastal Carolina 6-4, 6-0. Saba will now face Chris Cooprider of UNC Wilmington in the third round.

Sophomore Raphael Hemmeler, who hails from Zurich, Switzerland, defeated Nicholas Soriano of East Carolina 6-4, 6-3 in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round of play. Hemmeler, the sixth-seeded player in the tournament, will face Brett Clark in the third round of play on Saturday.

Freshman Daniel McCall, who hails from San Francisco, Calif., was defeated in his first round match by North Carolina’s Stuart Depaolo, 6-2, 6-3. The rookie dropped a hard-fought decision in the first-round of the consolation bracket to Jack Williams of UNC Charlotte, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

Two rounds of singles and one round of doubles are scheduled to be played on Friday, with McCall and Levine scheduled to be the only duo to represent the Blue Devils in the first round of doubles taking the court against Chris Mark and Kevin Moore of Davidson. Play is scheduled to begin with the first round of doubles at 9 a.m.